Adaptation of manga series by the same people who brought you Future Diary.

Characters

Daisy is a weird fairy/hallucination who goes around and turns random people into Orders, which basically means that they get super-powers based on whatever they were wishing for at the time. She seems to be mostly doing this for shits and giggles, as she expects to be entertained by whatever interesting things the Orders will do with their powers. And in that regard, she’s been rather disappointed by…

Eiji, our teenage protagonist, who somehow got powers so incredible that he basically wrecked the world by accident when he got them. Ten years later, the scars are still visible all around, and he’s trying to keep as low a profile as possible. Other compelling reason to never ever use his powers again : his little sister is in the hospital because of his past outburst (and his inner monologue makes it sound like she’s barely got six months to live).

Rin is the pretty new transfer student into Eiji’s class, but of course that’s just a front, because it wouldn’t be a Sakae Esuno story without a sadistic redhead stalking the protagonist and being very creepy indeed. She’s an assassin nominally working for a secret council of weirdoes supposedly running what’s left of the world, and tasked with tracking Eiji down. Of course, since her parents died in the catastrophe, she quickly ditches her recon job and goes straight for the kill. Also, she’s an Order with regenerative powers, so she’s basically immortal.

Eiji spends most of the episode whining and panicking, but Rin straight out stabbing his little sister is the straw that broke the camel back. Together with Daisy putting a big range limiter on his ability (so that he can use it without risk of wrecking the whole world), this spurs him into fighting back. Especially as Daisy clarifies that his power isn’t actually to break stuff. He’s really a reality warper, able to bend the world (and people) around him to his will. (With a range now limited to at best the size of a building.) See, his wish as a kid was patterned after his favourite cartoon character, who was about conquering the world for its own good. So hey, Eiji might as well go and conquer the world… starting with the council of assholes who went after him. And Rin is his first draftee, whether she wants it or not.

Production Values

On the one hand, this is very raw looking indeed ; studio Asread isn’t known for producing polished shows, and this is the case here too. On the other hand, there are some great visuals for the initial catastrophic event, with the world just getting broken and fractured in a very unsettling way.

What did I think of it ?

This was certainly a very rough start. The episode spends most of its runtime being miserable and without much direction, spending more effort on histrionics than coherent storytelling. But it all comes together with the final reveal, which gives its protagonist a much-needed agenda, interesting powers that he’s already using creatively (lol at Rin healing Eiji’s little sister without even noticing it for a while – “Wait, why the heck am I doing this ?”), and dynamics with his supporting cast that promise to be fascinating.

This show is of course very derivative of something like, say, Death Note, but there’s enough energy and ideas here to keep it fresh. I’m willing to watch where it goes for a while.

Don’t bother with Ragnastrike Angels (if you can even find it). It’s a glorified 30-second commercial for the mobile game, and it’s over before you even realize it.

With three minutes of runtime, Pan de Peace! (the pun, it hurts !) at least manages to provide a more decent bite of content. It’s yet another adaptation of a 4-panel manga starring four girls with vague lesbian overtones, with the gimmick being that they’re all crazy about bread. Perfectly inoffensive, but nothing particularly distinctive or interesting either ; it’s comfort food, basically. And since I’m on a diet, I’m gonna skip it.

Oh, and just in case, the new JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series, Diamond is Unbreakable starts off very promisingly. The colour design is even more striking than before somehow, too. And with only 39ish episodes planned, there’s a good chance it’s going to be less bloated than Stardust Crusaders.

As previously mentioned, I won’t be doing a full review of the first episode of Macross Delta, as I already covered a preview of it three months ago. Let’s just say that it’s still as charming, and there are few more minutes of stuff happening at the end. (Since the actual first episode is somehow shorter than the preview, I presume they cut several minutes of fluff earlier on ; none of it is really missed.)

And for completeness’ sake, Sailor Moon Crystal is back, now covering the manga’s “Infinity” arc. On the one hand, given the popularity of the first anime version of it, it’s a no-brainer. On the other hand, the manga version (followed to the letter here) unfolds quite differently, and not always for the better. (The “reversion” stuff in this chapter is particularly silly pseudo-science.) And well, the usual flaws of Crystal are still present, especially the lack of atmosphere.

But who cares ? I bought the whole manga despite not liking it much ; I can certainly watch through this for completionism’s sake. (Especially as “Infinity” isn’t too bad as manga arcs go.)

Shounen Ashibe: Go! Go! Goma-chan is a short kids’ show about a boy (Ashibe) and his pet seal (Goma), adapted from a 4-panel manga series that already got two TV series in the early 90s. To say that it’s very dated indeed is an understatement ; most of the jokes and caricatures seem lifted straight out of the 70s or earlier. Otherwise, it’s perfectly inoffensive, but I’m way too old to be in the target audience.

Onigiri adapts a MMORPG as a series of shorts. Interestingly, it chooses to take the piss out of this fanservice-ladden cliché-fest, mocking thoroughly how male characters aren’t voiced, or having the main characters’ account be suspended because of tool tampering (as I was indeed wondering about the machine-gun and flamethrower whipped out by one of them in this med-fan setting…). To my surprise, most of the jokes are actually funny and delivered with good comedic timing, so I could see myself keeping watching it for a while.

Bishoujo Yuugi Unit Crane Game Girls is a baffling series of shorts, featuring three random girls being assembled so that they can save the world, but with their handlers telling them they’re going to be idols and playing crane games. The joke is in dire need of a punchline, and doesn’t work at all ; and it isn’t helped by fugly Flash-like animation. Skip.

Nope, not doing a full review of Tonkatsu DJ Agetarou. It looks awful and is barely animated, the premise is silly (being a DJ is just like cooking Tonkatsu !), and it quickly got on my nerves. I’ll pass.

Yoko, our point-of-view character, comes from a family that used to be affluent, but recently fell into hard times. She still has a lot of “rich girl” mannerisms, but not the wealth nor the confidence to back it up. She desperately wants to fit in with “commoners”, but her social anxiety got the better of her and she got off the wrong foot with her class. Which is why she’s now spending her lunch breaks in a discrete hidden spot in the school gardens. (Mostly eating bread crumbs, because those are hella cheap.)

Two students from another class, Futaba, an energetic “black hole” who seems to be eating her own weight everyday, and Teru, the class rep adept of social-fu who hides a surprisingly devious nature behind her prim and proper attitude, happen to stumble upon her, and start socializing. Yoko is both baffled and delighted at first, but then gets anxious. What if I say something wrong and they stop being my friends ?

Yamaji used to be an (adult) servant of Yoko’s family for three minutes before they bankrupted, and has taken pity on her. Which means that he’s constantly stalking her and doing stuff like giving her the nearly-expired food he’s gathered in one of his many part-time jobs. On the one hand : dude, you’re creepy. On the other hand, your heart is in the right place, and the show treating you as an annoying but inoffensive joke has some charm.

So far, the three friends are mostly talking about food. Whether it’s the show’s main theme, or merely an ice breaker, remains to be seen.

Production Values

Bright and shiny, as it should be.

What did I think of it ?

Coming in, it sounded like the big selling point was that the show featured three girls instead of the usual four. As it turns out, it’s got a surprisingly effective character study of Yoko’s social anxiety that hit very close to home, as well as many good jokes (such as Futaba one day coming with a whole loaf of bread to eat) and some intriguing character beats (I want to know more about Teru’s hidden depths).

Adaptation of a manga series about a teenage witch attending high school.

Characters

Makoto, our heroine, is of the very low-key kind of witch. Also, she’s has a terrible sense of orientation, and easily gets lost. Technically the Land of Witches consider her an adult by 15, but her parents insisted she finish high school, just in case. So she comes to move in with…

Kei, her cousin she hasn’t seen for years. He leaves deep in the country (which is apparently a popular place for witches), and goes to the same high school she’ll attend.

Chinatsu, Kei’s kid sister, is initially very distrustful of Makoto. It all changes after a few donuts and a broomstick ride.

Nao, Kei’s not-girlfriend, is completely weirded out by the newcomer, having never been exposed to witches before. (“Oops, we’re not supposed to talk about it beyond us and our families !”)

Production Values

Quite nice looking, overall.

What did I think of it ?

So charming ! This is endearing from beginning to end, and it’s really hard to dislike someone as genuinely nice as Makoto. The show also has great comedic timing, like when Chinatsu keeps screaming in joy in the background after the broomstick ride for minutes on end.

In the future, Japan has been half-submerged, and it seems the big thing is naval patrols by ships entirely crewed by women, the “Blue Mermaids”. Before that, though, they have to go through Marine High School, which includes a long practical period where they indeed crew ships with no onboard supervision. Of course, they have already studied and chosen their specialties beforehand : engineers, navigators, communication officers, cooks, doctors… and, er, weaponsmasters. Because those school ships have live ordinance.

The destroyer we’re following, the Hanekaze, has a crew of 31 by my count ; for obvious reason, most of them aren’t really developed.

Akeno, our protagonist, was a surprising choice for captain ; she didn’t have the highest grades, and is a bit clumsy. On the other hand, her essays about seeing the crew as a family must have struck a chord with the instructors. She certainly does seem to have a good head on her shoulders during this episode.

Mashiro, her deputy, is more what you’d expect ; top grades, very serious and by-the-book. On the other hand, she takes more time to process when something unexpected happens, and has trouble handling Akeno and her free-wheeling, casual attitude.

Moeka was Akeno’s childhood friend and they made a promise of becoming Blue Mermaids together… which is slightly impeded by her becoming the captain of another ship. But hey, they’ll see each other back after practical training !

Ms Furushou, their instructor, gives them barely a few words before they’re off for their maiden trip. She doesn’t come with them, of course ; she’ll be waiting at their destination. And when they’re late, she comes on one of the instructor ships and… has it fire at them ??? And when Akeno eventually orders to fire back to cover their escape, Ms Furushou has them branded as outlaws gone rogue ???

What the heck is going on ?

Production Values

Lavish portrayals of the ships and their weapons, of course. Well, at least we don’t get much of the other kind of fanservice.

What did I think of it ?

Let’s be honest : the writers messed up the first half of the episode, with long scenes of nothing happening and way too little being established about either the main characters or the world. That’s really, really boring.

On the other hand, once the unexpected starts happening, Akeno steps up, and we get to see the crew together in action ? That’s much more like it ; and the insanity of the plot twist has a lot of charm in itself. It’s probably a training exercise for the “crew of leftovers” (what does that even mean ?), but it’s a good excuse to have our heroes fend for themselves for a while.

I’m actually quite interested in seeing where this is going, provided it can keep its mystery going.

Yukina, our protagonist, is a ordinary high school girl whose plans for the future include, er, going to Mars. (Second choice : Mercury. Third choice : Jupiter.) Well, not with those grades she isn’t, her teacher awkwardly explains.

Mom won’t have any of it ; after all, if she’s an overachiever herself, why wouldn’t her daughter be able to ? (Yukina just looks mortified at this point.) Mom is the head of a UN facility, after all. And, er, still forgetful enough to leave her cell on the teacher’s desk. Cue Yukina bringing a friend with her to her mother’s workplace so she can hand it back (and give her friend a bit of a tour, because we need more clumsy exposition damnit).

I have no clue what they actually do at this UN facility. Utility mecha for construction work ? Sure, why not. Actual battle mecha teams ready to react when a bunch of mysterious unmanned mecha drop in from space ? Seriously, what are they doing here that’d warrant such an attack ? (And it’s not the last one.)

Other mystery : the big black cube they excavated several decades ago, and have kept in a hall once they got bored of studying it. Somehow, once Yukina touches it, it opens and lets out a naked defrosted samurai who can somehow go head-to-toe with the one mecha who got into the room. And calls Yukina “princess”, for some reason.

Production Values

LOL at Yukina’s hands obscuring the samurai’s body, Austin Powers style. Otherwise, it’s average-looking for a PA Works production, although still great with body language.

What did I think of it ?

This is very average indeed. Most of the exposition is awkward (not helped by the terrible fansubs I watched this with, admittedly), Yukina is the only halfway interesting character introduced so far, and the enemy mechas are a bit weaksauce, both in designs and menace.

In a less busy season, I’d give it the benefit of the doubt and let the familiar genre tropes carry it. As it is, it gets one more episode to become more interesting before I drop it.

Tanaka, our lead character, keeps falling asleep in class. Or at least, he tries to ; most of the time he gets into an uncomfortable position that allows him little sleep. Apparently there’s a whole art to sleeping while sitting at a desk.

Oota, his best friend, is our straight man. I’m amazed by his patience.

Production Values

Okay enough, I guess.

What did I think of it ?

I’m not sure the intended reaction was to put me to sleep, but it’s nicely ironic.

The joke’s just not strong enough to carry an episode, let alone a whole series. Tanaka’s anemic delivery doesn’t help, and the show does little to keep it visually interesting.

Er, fuck if I know. The title seems to be a play on “kizuna” (“bond”), and there’s some talk about achieving world peace ? Anyway, it’s the latest original show by studio Trigger (but without Imaishi involved).

Characters

Agata, our protagonist, is your ordinary student at one of those public high schools where nobody does much studying, and the teachers don’t care. Strangely, he doesn’t feel pain much ; which means that whenever he gets bullied (and it happens often), he just lets it happen and waits it out.

One day, he’s approached by a strange girl named Sonozaki, who starts a long and not particularly coherent spiel about him being part of a modern version of the Seven Deadly Sins, who are the key to achieve world peace. Also, she pushes him down some stairs.

When he wakes up, he finds himself with five other classmates :
– Chidori, his not-girlfriend who always wants him to either step up against the bullies, or at least bring the teachers in ;
– Tenga, the big guy who crushed the bullies earlier on, because seriously ;
– Hisomu, the self-absorbed playboy who thinks he’s way cooler than he actually is ;
– Niko, the chuuni weirdo who keeps getting distracted by her own imagination ;
– and Maki, the high and mighty ice queen who thinks herself above all those losers.

Sonozaki explains that they were all abducted gathered by her agents, and have been given implants to become “Kiznaivers”. The most obvious practical effect is that whenever one of them gets hurt, each of them receives a portion of the pain (which limits the injury for the one actually struck).

How any of this is supposed to achieve world peace, I have no clue. But then, Sonozaki and her crew seem to be into really weird research indeed. And there’s the obvious question of why there are only six of them given the “Deadly Sins” theme (my immediate suspicion being that Sonozaki herself is the 7th). Oh, and I highly suspect Agata’s condition might be due to already having another set of Kiznaiver links inside him (if the cryptic flashbacks are anything to go by).

Production Values

Well, it’s studio Trigger, so expect lots of hyperkinetic action and bold colour choices… and actually, it looks like there’s less shortcuts in their animation than usual. And there’s tons of neat little visuals, from Tenga’s dynamic entry to the mascot-like appearances of Sonozaki’s crew.

What did I think of it ?

Well, that’s certainly intriguing. The plot outright makes no sense, but then it seems to run on nightmare logic more than anything else. It’s fast-paced enough to pull it off, quickly sketching out the main characters with remarkable economy. I’m especially impressed by the “show, don’t tell” approach for Sonozaki : we know nothing about her, but her speech paints a fascinating picture.

This is one of the most interesting shows of the season ; I definitely want to watch more to learn what’s going on here.

Chihiro is a poor 10-year-old kid whose mother has just died. He thought she was his only family, but it seems she was merely estranged for her family (obviously for having him). Which is why, a few days later, his rich uncle comes to pick him up…

Madoka, his mother’s younger brother, is delighted to bring his nephew to his own big house, and THANK GODS this is way less creepy than it sounds. He just seems lonely, and had much affection and respect for his sister. Interestingly, while he clearly doesn’t need to, he does have a job as a costume designer.

Shinozaki, Madoka’s secretary, handles a lot of duties for his slob of a boss. He draws the line at cleaning more than the study where they work, though. The rest of the huge mansion is a complete mess.

Since Chihiro is defiant of Madoka, and doesn’t want to feel indebted to a family his mother clearly wanted nothing to do with, they come to an arrangement : Chihiro will handle domestic duties in exchange for room and board. Also, Madoka got him to wear a custom-designed maid outfit, because he though it’d be funny and Chihiro didn’t protest too much.

Production Values

Thankfully, no fanservice whatsoever.

What did I think of it ?

The synopsis was rather worrying, but this seems to be an inoffensive little comedy about parenting (although one’s not quite sure who’s a parent to whom). The manga certainly doesn’t seem to have raised warning flags, and further episodes look like they’re going to add in age-appropriate love interests for both of our leads.

On the other hand, while it’s pleasant enough, there’s nothing particularly remarkable about it. In a busy season where there are tons of average slice-of-life comedies, I may have to cut this one within a week or two to make my schedule more sensible.

Sakamoto, our lead character, is awesome. Whatever you throw at this otherwise ordinary highschool student, he’ll not only take it in stride, but also look cool while dealing with it. And he’ll never get angry against whoever caused it ; he’s way above such petty shit.

And, er, that’s pretty much it. The episode is split between the tale of three delinquents in his class trying to bully him (hahaha, nope), and the one of the handsome teenage model getting jealous that all the girls think that Sakamoto is cooler than him. (Also, some other random assorted segments to pad things out, like Sakamoto saving a bird during a storm.)

Production Values

Now this has studio Deen putting some effort into it ; it certainly succeeds into making Sakamoto looking like the coolest dude ever. The jazzy score helps a lot in that regard.

What did I think of it ?

Well, it’s not a bad joke. On the other hand, that one joke is all the show has ; can it sustain itself for a full season ? I have some doubts. It runs the risk of getting old very quickly, unless it finds some new crazy stuff for Sakamoto to do.

But hey, I’m willing to give it at least another episode to see where it goes.